1. Introduction
Faced with the beliefs of traditional historiography that asserted the total union of the Christian kingdoms under the power of the Catholic kings, there is today the firm belief that although it is admitted that all the Christian kingdoms had a single crown, there were no transcendent changes in their social or institutional structures.
What I have tried in this work is to find a piece (in this case monetary) that refers to both the medieval past and the modern future. In this sense, the silver royal is one of the characteristic pieces of the reign of the Catholic kings and at the same time brings together many of the characteristics of the medieval numerary. As I understand it, it works as a hinge on the way between the medieval age and the modern age. In this work we have treated it as a material and real element that testifies in favor of that change of generation linked to the Catholic kings. At the same time I wanted to show that the classification between the modern and medieval ages does not transcend in a year or two but is the result of a process that has its translation not only in political structures but also in monetary realities.Far from being an exhaustive work of investigation, we are going to try to render meaningless a coin understood as a source of historical research.
2. Currency Description
Obverse: It is the main face of the coin on this occasion it is not represented a figure of the rulers but the shield of both crowns.
Reverse: It is the back of the coin on this occasion represented by the main symbolism of the Catholic kings that is, the yoke and the arrows.
Edge: it is the outer perimeter of the coin, also known as a rim, in this case it defines the circular shape of the coin, it is irregular and lacks any legend or decoration.
Gráfila: it is the cord that delimits the spaces of the coin. In this case there is an interior and it lacks a peripheral that usually goes over the legend. It usually has a functional character. Protects the type of the coin from wear and tear.
Field: It is the interior part of the coin lacking any decoration and printing. The silver royal has an obverse with a very limited field since the shield occupies almost the entire surface, and on the reverse, we have much more space than that left by the plant decoration and the symbol of the Catholic kings.
Main type: Represented by the relief figures on the coat of arms of the Catholic kings.
Secondary type: On the front, represented by the yoke and arrows.
Legend: Obverse: «Fernandus et Elisa
Reverse: "Rex et regina de Castella legina"
3. Typological Classification
According to G. Bauer:
Bauer distinguishes between two major branches of historical sources. On the one hand, the sources in a broad sense and on the other hand, historical sources in the broad sense. The silver real is found within historical sources in the strict sense. These sources, in turn, are classified into three groups: sources transmitted orally, sources transmitted in writing or in print, and sources transmitted through visual representation. The silver royal belongs to the latter, falling within those that affect practical life.
According to RC Van Caenegem:
This author distinguishes four types of sources, narrative texts (in the strict sense), letters and treaties, controversial and legal writings, documents and acts; and fiscal and socioeconomic documents. Unfortunately, either I do not have information regarding its classification for this type of sources or it is that they are not considered within its typological classification.
According to L. Genicot:
It is the most important typological classification since it covers a very wide spectrum of possibilities for historical documentation. Basically it distinguishes two types of fonts: unwritten fonts and written fonts. The silver real within the unwritten sources would be located in the subclassification of documentary sources that distinguishes: Architecture, Figurative Arts, Industrial Arts and other objects. It is within the latter that the object of study is located.
According to Ruiz de la Peña:
As with Van Caeneghem, I have been faced with the impossibility of establishing a coherent classification in light of my data. It is possible that either you consider that these types of sources do not provide relevant information or that they are inserted within a space that I have not been able to decipher.
4. Historical Commentary
In order to draw reasoned conclusions about the historical development of this type of source, I consider it obvious to make a contextualization of a historical type. When you go into the study of monetary pieces from this era, it is very easy to enter a rather cumbersome network of values and presentations. As there is no gold standard or the bank of Spain, it is very difficult to establish the precise value of a coin, if we also take into account that in medieval numismatics coins survive throughout the centuries and the mintings are not punctual but also constantly vary in type on one side or the other, it is almost impossible to establish a specific and specific analysis. Furthermore, this specific piece had many translations in America throughout the 16th century. In this work,We have limited ourselves to making a very specific temporal and spatial development and always limited to the authorities that issued it and to the protagonists themselves who initially managed them.
The historical setting would cover approximately from the wedding of Isabel and Fernando in 1469 until the birth of the new century. Despite the fact that previously Henry IV had already minted silver reales, it is during the reign of the Catholic kings that they acquire their true meaning.
Between 1475 and 1480, the sectors of the nobility against Isabel started a war in the interior of Castilla with Portuguese backing since Alfonso V intended to defend the rights of his niece Juana and thereby avoid the relative Iberian isolation that Portugal would see. subdued with a possible union Castilian Aragonese. The rebels also have the support of Louis XI of France who sees in the Castilian war a means of disturbing her adversary, the King of Aragon.
This conjuncture was born when on January 15, 1475 the arbitration sentence or Concord of Segovia between Isabel and Fernando on the joint government of Castile was signed. This is a relevant fact for our study since it is here that the coat of arms of the Catholic kings is fixed, which is represented in the silver royal and in other coins.
The royal marriage manages to disrupt their adversaries militarily and lay the foundations for the pacification of Castile, the reorganization of government institutions, the relations of the monarchy and the nobility, in a sense fully favorable to the freedom of political action of the kings, extended equally to the entire crown: the measures taken in the Cortes of 1476 and 1480 stand out. The kings also break the distant attitude that the Holy See had shown towards them until then and, as of 1478, the great lines of ecclesiastical politics. That same year a peace had been reached with France, which, however, had already occupied Roussillon and Cerdagne. At the beginning of 1479 John II died and Fernando acceded to the Aragonese throne: the dynastic union was already a fact. A few months later,peace is signed with Portugal and a time of good relations opens; The peace treaty recognizes, among other things, the full incorporation of the Canaries into the Crown of Castile.
With the Catholic Monarchs, the homogenization of the peninsular monetary system began, based on the model provided by the strongest economy: that of the Crown of Castile. Each of the non-Castilian kingdoms continued to have their coins. But in 1497 the basic pattern of the system was set around the "excellent" (gold and called duchy since 1504), the real (silver) and the white (fleece). The Castilian unit of account, the maravedí, established the relationship between the different types of coins: the duchy was worth 375 maravedís, the real 34 and the white 2.5. From such equivalences, various coins were minted: two, four or more ducats; the reals and their multiples, the largest of which was the real of eight, or fractions, as the real means; and another series of fleece coins.In 1535 a new gold coin of less weight and grade than the dukedom was introduced, in order to equalize the Castilian gold coin with that of other countries and avoid its flight abroad. This currency was the "shield" or "crown" (350 maravedis), with which the duchy was no longer minted and became an account currency. The Catholic Monarchs set a maximum limit on the quantity of fleece circulating, thereby establishing a stable system, which functioned practically throughout the sixteenth century.with which they established a stable system, which worked practically throughout the sixteenth century.with which they established a stable system, which worked practically throughout the sixteenth century.
First of all, it should be noted that the currency under analysis has some types and a minting that is not exclusive to this piece but that the same types were minted by coins of different value throughout the 16th century and that we have chosen this to be the first of these characteristics that was coined.
In such a way that before this new minting, there were real, half real, fourth and sixth of silver of eleven monies and four grains of law and carving of sixty-six pieces of a real by a frame from Pedro I. The kings Enrique II, Juan I, Enrique III, Juan II and Enrique IV, worked theirs to the same law and size.
The historical analysis of the currency begins by recognizing the external characteristics. The trimmed edges would indicate a double coinage first the type and the legend of the obverse would be made and later the one of the reverse. As a temporary matter, it is very likely that these coins were minted and not cast, and the characteristics of coin casting are not appreciated. Perhaps the most relevant for historical knowledge is the symbolic composition of the coin, so we have an obverse made up of the legend «Fernandus et Elisa». Making clear reference to the authority that legitimizes the currency. In this case, Fernando de Aragón and Isabel de Castilla. Inside is the type represented by a rectangular shield, the alternating symbols of the kingdoms of both monarchs: Castilla, León, and Aragon.Sicily is represented in a lower triangle by a lys flower. All of it is stamped with the royal crown to which later and in modern times the eagle of Saint John will be added.
The reverse is formed by a legend that reads: "Rex et regina de Castella legina" although this last word is not very clear in the official representations, it is true that by comparison with coins of the same period and authority, we see that in all of them it does reference to the "legions" or troops of Queen Isabella and Ferdinand, although those of the latter are not usually very explicitly represented, perhaps due to direct connection with the capitulations signed by King Ferdinand in direct relation to their marriage. What is clear is that the kings use this currency not only to legitimize its value but also to give public notoriety to their own government and powers. The guy is represented by a yoke by Isabel and a bundle of arrows by Fernando.A series of plant motifs that unify both symbols complement the monetary type. Lastly, a "B" is inscribed that probably refers to the mint that made that coin. Analyzing the existing mints we can discard the one from Barcelona since the Catalan county normally minted its own currency, so it was probably minted in Burgos.
Finally, in a fully generic sense, this coin was of great importance because it will serve as a model for establishing monetary values until the 19th century. In a way, it could be said that it was the monetary gold standard of modern Spain.
5. Assessment and study possibilities, Conclusions
I think it is a wonderful source for knowledge of aspects related to history. It is a useful source to learn about the history of art. It is the basis of studies of monetary circulation. Its appearance in percentage and number in deposits is indicative of the standard of living of a place. It is a very useful source for the study of iconography and symbology, and it can also be used as a support for heraldic and royal genealogy studies. On the other hand, he is one of the most direct exponents of real thought and the doctrine of the ruling classes. It should not be forgotten that in numismatics no representation is random or accidental.
Numismatics in general is considered an auxiliary science of history. What I have been able to verify through this work, is that in the face of a flood of studies on ancient numismatics, there are very few on medieval numismatics. I imagine that it will be due to the so much questioned lack of sources that we have about the ancient times, but doesn't something similar happen with the High Middle Ages? It is also possible that there are abundant sources but I have not had enough skill to find them.
As previously indicated, the possibilities for studying this coin are quite wide, especially if we take into account the long duration of its minting from the s. XIV until 1567. Moment in which Felipe II decides to place his arms and his shield. In this work we have limited ourselves to a hypothetical piece whose value today would be comparable to that of the 500 pesetas coin.
In the complex world of numismatics we have chosen to work on a currency that, far from passing without pain or glory on the stock market of the Middle Ages, constituted a separate point in the monetary configuration of the time. Furthermore, its value and weight mark two milestones; on the one hand the birth of the modern currency and on the other hand the establishment of a pattern for later minting, despite the fact that we bear in mind that, at first, this was not the ideal of the Catholic kings who in their second monetary reform (the one from 1497) had established the "excellent" as the official currency.
6. Consulted Bibliography
"The Spanish Currency (Brief monetary history of Spain)". Mateu Felipe and Llopis. Barcelona. 1946. Edit: Alberto Martín.
Despite having more than 50 years of history, it is a book where I have found adequate references for the description of the coin. Useful to know its historical development despite the fact that I have had problems to delimit it and extract it from the context to which it was subject here.
"History of the Spanish Currency". Octavio Gil Farrés. Madrid. 1976.
It is also a relatively old book but this has been very useful for me to define the historical formulas that led to its minting.
"Spanish coins (from the Visigoths to the fifth centenary of the discovery of America)". JR Cayón, C. Castán. Madrid. 1991.
This is a more recent book, it has the downside that in many cases it is nothing more than a mere monetary catalog. It has been very useful for describing the external characteristics of the coin.
"The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs". Miguel Angel Ladero Quesada. Madrid. 1999. Editorial Alliance.
This is the manual that I have used for the contextualization annotations, to create the scenario that surrounded the minting of this coin.
Download the original file
